Alright, a new chapter for one and all. :)

This is one is a little more short and sweet but I think it has its moments!

Enjoy :)

"Come on Joel, one more!"

"Ellie, just go to sleep."

"Please?"

Joel sighed as he turned to his side to look at his wide awake companion.

"Fine; one more."

Ellie smiled wide as she skimmed through pages of her joke book that Joel had been trying to make her get rid of for weeks now.

"Why did the cookie go to the hospital?"

"I don't know; why?" Joel asked as he yawned.

"Because he felt crummy." She said as she giggled.

Joel rolled his eyes as he turned back around.

"Ok that's enough now; now try 'n get some sleep."

But Ellie just kept looking through the pages of the book as she tried to find one that would make Joel at least chuckle a little bit.

"How about this one; why couldn't Dracula's wife go to sleep?"

"Ellie—

"Come on, this is the last one, I promise."

"Alright… why?"

Ellie tried to stifle her laughter.

"Because of his… coffin."

This made Joel chuckle a little as he sat up. This made Ellie raise a fist in victory as she put the book back in her backpack. Joel stared into the glowing fire, his face looking like he was thinking hard about something. Once Ellie had gotten comfortable, she watched him to see if was going to make a different movement. But he sat there in the same position for what seemed like forever. It wasn't until he had felt the pair of emerald eyes seep into the side of his head did he move his head.

"What?"

"What are you thinking about?" Ellie asked as she scooted closer, ready for a long story.

Joel just shook his head as looked away from the fire and up to the star filled sky. Ellie rolled her eyes and looked up at the sky with him. He would never really explain what was on his mind to her. It was a peaceful with only the chirping of the crickets and the sounds coming from their horse being their soundtrack for tonight. Ellie waited for him to say something but he just started looking off into space while started whistling to get his attention. Joel heard her in the back of his mind but he didn't make any movements. Ellie snapped her fingers in front of his face, bringing him back to reality.

"You ok there, Joel?" Ellie chuckled.

Joel just nodded as he ran both hands in his hair. Ellie looked at him curiously. Something was really bothering him tonight, but he would never say what it was. He never talked about things form his past to Ellie; whether it was from it being too painful, or that fact that he just didn't want to tell her, she would never know. But when he looked back up, he spoke.

"I guess my mind is stuck 'n the past." He kept eyes on the fire.

"Hm, like what?"

"Things before all this; work, makin' sure Sarah was asleep on time…" his voice drifted off.

"Sounds boring; but I guess that was ok then huh?"

"'Was better than sleepin' outside and tryin' to survive every day." Joel shrugged.

"What was that like?" Ellie asked as she walked back to her sleeping bag and lying down with her elbow propped up.

Joel looked at her as she was ready for a bedtime story. Normally, Joel would just blow her off and not talk about it, but this night was different. He just started talking. He talked about memories he had from twenty years ago; about his job, about how close he and his brother before, camping hiking, and Sarah. Ellie never interrupted, but her ears became more alert when she heard him say her name. He was just talking about her; freely. It wasn't anything bad though; he focused on the things that made him happy about her. Like, how he finally admitted that she was the one who forced him to see that "dumb teen movie" as he had put it. He talked about how he was the best thing that was in his life at that time; he never said anything about his wife though. Ellie knew better than to ask about her; that was probably wasn't even thin ice, but a bottomless pit.

"Sounds like life were awesome then; being able to wake up without worrying about whether this was your last day." Ellie commented when Joel had stopped talking.

He looked down at her and saw that she was drifting off to sleep. He just nodded as he tended to the fire; the nights were starting to get cooler now that fall was creeping up on them.

"What's yours been like Ellie?" Joel asked suddenly.

"What? My life?" she picked up her head.

Joel shrugged. Why not ask her? He honestly didn't even know much about her other than that she was with Marlene and she has a smart mouth. The more and more he traveled with this little girl, the more interested he became in how she ended up here with him, trying to find the lost cause known as the Fireflies. She sat up from her sleeping bag and looked into the fire, just as Joel had and began telling her story. She told him about her parents and how she doesn't even remember their faces all that well. Their voices were a loud echo she couldn't pinpoint. She told him about everyone that she even encountered has left her or died. She told about the Zone she stayed in for awhile before finding Marlene. She mentioned someone named Riley, but when Joel saw the pain in her green eyes reflect off the flames of the fire, he didn't ask.

How they both drifted off to sleep that was strange. One minute, they were opening up, and soon Ellie was cracking more jokes to lighten the mood; the next they were both asleep. They didn't know when they started sitting next to each other that night, but the instant both of them fell asleep, Joel was sitting up against a tree, and Ellie was fast asleep, leaning against his shoulder. Ellie's dreams were calm that night, and whenever they started getting she would just grip onto Joel's arm, and suddenly everything was better.

I wish this was longer but I was in a really angsty mood when I wrote this so... that's what it ended up being. But I still like it and I hope you guys do too :)

Another chapter will be up soon :D